I'm new to FreeBSD but I'm enjoying it so far. I come from a Linux background, and generally have preferred binary package management tools (apt-get, yum, etc). I've also tried source-based distributions like Gentoo, but haven't seen the benefit of the time requirements of compiling.

Now, as I understand it, FreeBSD packages (via pkg_add) are pre-compiled whereas the ports are to-be-compiled? Is there a benefit one from another? As I mentioned I generally prefer the quick-installation of a binary package, but if it is worth the time to compile (as the Gentoo people claim) then I'd be willing to give that a try.